Serbia to host 2024 World Cross Country Championships in March

The World Athletics Council on Wednesday 27 September awarded the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships to Belgrade, Serbia.

The championships, set to take place on 30 March 2024, come as a replacement for the initial hosts, Medulin and Pula in Croatia, who had been earmarked to host the event on 10 February next year.

In an announcement on Friday 15 September however, World Athletics confirmed that preparations in the two Croatian municipalities had not advanced sufficiently for them to host the event, and that “an alternative host in Europe with a view to staging the event in March 2024 will be announced before the end of September.”

Wednesday’s confirmation thus makes Belgrade the host of a second World Athletics Series event in two years, having successfully hosted the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships.

“Belgrade is establishing itself as a reliable host of world class competitions,” World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said on Wednesday. “Following a memorable 2022 World Indoor Championships we are confident that the organization of our 2024 World Cross Country Championships is in a safe pair of hands.”

Belgrade has staged several major track and field events over the years, including the 1962 European Championships, 2013 European Cross Country Championships, 2017 European Indoor Championships and the 2017 Balkan Championships.

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The 2024 World Cross Country Championships will be held in the Park of Friendship, next to the Danube River in the heart of Belgrade, which was also the site of the 2013 European Championships.

Additionally, the Council approved the dates for the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, OR (USA), which will be held on 4-9 August 2026, and for the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen (DEN), to be held on 19-20 September 2026.

Additional reporting by World Athletics.